THE spate of gang-related gun crime that has rocked Birmingham is the most serious seen since the New Year party murders more than five years ago, police said today.

Detectives believe five separate shootings that have left one dead and four injured since July are gang-related and have led to “rising tensions” between street thugs.

The most recent shooting saw the murder of Dimitri Foskin, in Newtown, on Saturday. He was known to have friends affiliated to one of the gangs. Yesterday his family made an emotional appeal for help to catch his killer.

Police have now boosted the number of officers, including armed patrols, on the streets as part of an umbrella operation to prevent an escalation in crime and reassure the public.

The current spate of crime is a new challenge for the force which celebrated major successes in dismantling street gangs following the murders of Letisha Shakespeare and Charlene Ellis in January 2003.

Assistant Chief Constable Suzette Davenport said the gang problem was now manifesting itself in a way that had not been seen since their deaths.

“We’ve been very successful over the last five years in suppressing incidents and stopping people getting shot or injured,” she said.

“This is the first spike we have had in that time. We will not tolerate this behaviour.”

Police have not yet discovered the trigger for the current spate of gun crime, saying it could equally be rivalries between gangs or even within gangs themselves.

The shootings are not thought to be pre-planned but instead random incidents, possibly a result of chance meetings between rivals.

The current crimewave started last month with a drive-by shooting in Belgrave Middleway.

On August 7, a man was critically injured in another driveby shooting in Ladywood.

Five days later, a teenager was wounded in Raleigh Close, Handsworth. Two people were shot and wounded at the Irish Club, Digbeth, on August 17. A week later Mr Foskin was shot within yards of his home.

Home Office expert Dr Derrick Campbell believes the current crimewave could be the result of power hungry young gang members looking to assert themselves over a loose affiliation of individuals.